Finite Element Analysis of a Slab Tank Available to Purchase

The objective of this paper is to verify design of a slab tank. The slab tank is to store various criticality liquids used in today’s industry. The initial over all dimensions of the slab tank are determined from the capacity of the stored liquids. The design function is performed using the flat plate theory. The slab tank design is broken up into (a) two long side members, (b) two short side members, (c) top head, and (d) bottom head. It is supported from the bottom at a height by a rectangular plate enclosure. It is anchored at the rectangular plate enclosure. The deflection of the linear space is a critical requirement. Stresses are usually acceptable because the requirement is on the deflection. For vacuum condition the long side plates will deflect inwards. Flat plate equations are used to determine deflection and stress. For internal pressure condition the design pressure consists of working internal pressure plus static head pressure. For this the long side plates will deflect outwards. The heads are designed for internal pressure at the bottom where the pressure is the maximum. The designed dimensions are used to recalculate the stresses for the slab tank. The dimensioned slab tank is modeled using STAAD III finite element software. The stresses from the finite element software are compared to the stresses obtained from recalculated stresses obtained using flat plate theory. The difference in the stress values is explained. This paper’s main objective is to compare the flat plate theory to the finite element analysis. The design is found to be safe for the specific configuration considered.